SCRIPTURE - Isa 50:4 DECEMBER, 2011
The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
SUBJECT - TUNE IN TO GOD
Before I get in to this message, I want to give you some scriptures, that, will help you to understand where I will be going, in this article.
Isa 50:5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Prv 1:33, 2:1-2 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
A look at the subject scripture, and underlined, and italicized parts of the scriptures above, all point to the idea which is the basis, for the title of this message.
The order the scriptures are in, is not important. But, it is what they are relaying, that is the key to our being victorious in all endeavors we pursue, with God's blessing.
Let me also start out by saying, these are only a few, of hundreds, that I could have used, that say the same thing.
When I used the title,
'tune in to God', I focused on 2 devices that just about all of us have, either in our homes, cars, or both. They are the radio, and the TV.
Both of them serve the exact same purpose, and that is to deliver some sort of message, or entertainment to us, from a source that may be next door, a few blocks, or even miles away.
If we look at the fact that there are literally tens of thousands of sources out there, that are broadcasting, at the same time, then, the radio, and TV, would be totally worthless to us, if it allowed all of these signals to come through, at the same time. It would be a jungle of jibber jabber, and confusion.
Enter a little device, that all of them have, and that is, the tuner. This device, or rather circuit, is a group of filters, that are adjustable, that will effectively filter out all those signals, except the one, the listener/viewer, desires to hear. Of course, depending on the quality of your device, the more expensive it is, the better the tuning will be.
The point is, in order to get the message that station A is sending, clearly, you have to be able to filter out the messages from the other thousands, that are competing for your attention. Are you understanding me??
Well, in like manner, when it comes down to our relationship with God, we, pretty much, have the same situation.
We have God, constantly sending His message out, to all of us, as to what we need to do, in order to get the best, He has to offer us, both in this life, and after we depart.
Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. That is the message that He, is sending out to us, consistently.
But, He is not the only one competing for our attention. We have an enemy of God's, the devil, who is also constantly sending out messages to get us to listen to, and follow his directions for our lives.
The only way we can hear what God has to say, is that we have to effectively filter out, what His enemies, have to say.
You see, just as in radio and TV, there are multiple sources of information, that are designed, to get us to stray away from God. And
while we may think we are too smart to fall for what the enemy is trying to sell us, that is the main thing he uses, to get us to listen to him. He plays on our 'pride [thinking we know more than what we really do]'. Especially when, 99 times out of 100, we have been programmed, most of our childhood, and later in life, to accept certain things as being 'true', that are not.
Once you have been programmed, so to speak, to think a certain way, you have been put in the position of automatically filtering out, anything that is contrary to that programming.
You know, it is something like, those of us that have cable TV, in our homes, with children, there are steps you can take, to keep your children from accessing programming that you feel is inappropriate for them to look at, which will completely block it, even if the tuner is on that station.
Well, by the same token, you have an automatic blocking mentality, that blocks out, what God, may be wanting to tell you.
If you will notice the underlined, italicized portion of the subject scripture, you will notice it says, 'he wakeneth mine ear to hear', showing that God, if He wants us to hear Him, has to do something to get our attention. So, He
makes available to us, His Spirit, which is the Source, through which His message is sent, to us. So, it is never the fault of God, for our suffering, but rather, our own actions, that are keeping us in situations, that are unfavorable to God. But, all the time, He is trying to get our attention, or as the writer says,
'waken our ear, to hear Him.' The term means, we are asleep, when it comes to hearing Him, and He wants to get our attention, wake us up!!.
But, the programming we received, in our youth, from schools, family, friends, and such, kicks in, to block God's message, from even getting in to our spirit and soul.
One of the main tools the devil uses, is the filter that tells us, God is not real.
From the time we are born, we enter in to a phase of learning. That is the process where, we begin our education [programming, indoctrination], in to the ways we are supposed to behave. At certain intervals in our lives, we are expected to be able to respond to different situations, that will gage whether this education, has been proven successful. Just like with radio and TV, they are built to certain specifications, to be able to automatically function a certain way. It all depends on what the manufacturer wants the device to do.
Well, when God, our manufacturer, designed us, He did it with the intention of multiplying His likeness on the earth. We were designed, to be extensions of His righteousness, on the earth, to bring it, under His control. We were, at the time, connected, and listened to, only Him [talking about Adam and Eve.]
But, enter the devil, and trouble started, because now, there was competition for the minds of Adam and Eve. He, Satan, looked for the opportunity to gain access to them, when God, was not around, so to speak.
Since we are designed, by God, to be able to accept, process, and react to information, our entire existence, is one continual learning experience. The only thing that can hinder, or stop that process, other than death, is the type of information we receive. And the choice of accepting, or rejecting it, rests solely on one individual, and that is us.
We build our entire lives, on what we believe, because of our experiences. If experience tells us that, if we do something a certain way, the result will be good, then we will continue to do it, time and again. If, on th other hand, it brings us pain, then, only a fool, would continue to do it again. It is said, that the clearest indication of someone being a fool, is when they keep doing the exact same thing, and expecting a different result.
Well, herein, lies our dilemma.
The devil, has essentially gotten us to believe, that there are no choices for us to turn to, outside of what he presents to us for solutions. If he can only keep us from discovering that there is another Source of information out there for us to listen to, then, he has us, just where he wants us. And that is, under his control. And, as long as we are under his control, then, we are doomed, to suffer. We therefore, get used to the way things are, and accept them as reality.
It is a reality, that is based on deception, half truths, and outright lies.
Most of these are the result, of the fact, that since most people might believe that God is real, and therefore not easily dismissed, then His Word, had to be distorted, so that people that believed in God, would accept a message that was geared to keep them from the Real Truth.
All one really has to do, is look at the account of how the serpent did it to
Eve, in the garden of Eden, Genesis chapter 3, and you will get the picture. If that is not enough, look at how he tried the same thing, with Christ, in the wilderness
Mat. 4:1-11. And this is the key. The same tactics he used on Eve, and Christ, are the same he uses on all of us. They may show up in different variations, but, they are basically the same. He challenges God's Word, with the logic of man.
The only way to combat, what the devil is trying to get us to accept, is to, as the title says, tune in to God. When the serpent deceived Eve, he asked her what did God say, then Eve, quoted back, what God said, but, and this is a point of contention, she added something on to God's word. God forbade them to eat the fruit of the tree. By the way, it was not an apple. However, Eve added to God's command, when she said, they were no to touch it, either.
There are two things wrong when we use God's Word, incorrectly. One, is when we take away from His Word, and the other, is when we add to His Word. When we try to make it say more, than what it is saying.
When we are exposed to either position, God, will send us a warning, and it is essentially up to us, to be in a position to receive it. That means, we have to be able to filter out all of the interference, that the enemy will surely raise up, to prevent you from getting the message.
Surprisingly, a lot of that interference, will not come from those that are the overt enemies of God, but from those that are supposedly your brothers, and sisters in Christ, because it is their adding or subtracting, to His Word, that essentially feeds the non believers' beliefs, that keep them at odds with Christ. If you deal with them first, then, you tear down the erroneous foundations of the non believers.
When you are tuned in to God, His messages come in, nice and clear, and you then have a platform, on which to show everyone, just what is, and is not, God's Word.
There is an old saying, 'The proof, is in the pudding.'
Those that are more closer, to the Truth of God's Word, will be able to accomplish more things, especially in times of of great distress. It is then, that those who are in tune with God, will really begin to shine, above the rest of the crowd. That is when you become, the Light of the world, the City on the Hill, that all men can see!!! Hallelujah!!! When everyone else is sinking, you are rising to the top. You truly will be the head, while everyone else will be the tail.
I remember the old testament story of Daniel, and the three Hebrew boys, who refused to eat the food of the the king, which would have defiled them, but rather chose to eat, what essentially was porridge. After 10 days, they were healthier, and more fit, than the others, who did eat the king's meat. That, impressed the king, and brought them favor with him
[Dan. 1]. They were tuned in to God.
Prv 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
All you have to do, is 'tune in', and stay tuned in.
The choice my friend, is totally up to you.
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